The Sacramento Bee
Tuesday, December 27, 2005

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Healthcare and Life

Re "State ends some payments for managed care," Dec. 12: The federal government approved a new drug plan to decrease financial burdens for seniors and disabled. Now the state decides to take advantage of improved Medicare payments by reducing its own medical assistance. The net result - no improvement for those in need.

California's most vulnerable citizens are under attack. On one front, California is making health care more costly. On another, Assembly members Lloyd Levine and Patty Berg are preparing to introduce doctor-assisted suicide legislation again. Such legislation, linked with decreased health care coverage, would make seniors and disabled even more vulnerable. It would become cheaper to kill them than to care for them.

What are we doing here? Why are we opening doors that will make life so precarious for our elders? We talk of "compassionately" killing them. Out of whose misery are we putting them? Ours or theirs? Stop the attack. Restore health care. Refuse to kill.

Jennifer M. Le, RN, Citrus Heights
Executive Director, California Nurses for Ethical Standards

Relighting the Lamp